Ofw. Heinrich Bartels remains

[milanbencek]

Dear friends!

Ofw. Bartels (JG 27) failed to return on December 23rd, 1944. Wreck of his plane and remains of his body still sitting in cocpit of his Bf 109 found after war. Have someone some details about this action. Are existing some photos of wreck and Bartels´s body??? Where is burried?

Thanks Milan

[kennethklee]

I don't know much more, but if this helps, here's what I do know: The wreckage of Bartels' Bf 109G-10 was found in 1968 with Bartels's remains and intact parachute in the cockpit. Bartels' plane buried itself deeply in the ground, which is probably a major reason that the wreckage was not discovered until 23-odd years after he went down. I don't know if it's part of Bartels' official victory score, but a few sources credit Bartels with shooting down a P-47 Thunderbolt immediately before he became a victory himself.

Kenneth

Originally Posted by milanbencek

Dear friends!

Ofw. Bartels (JG 27) failed to return on December 23rd, 1944. Wreck of his plane and remains of his body still sitting in cocpit of his Bf 109 found after war. Have someone some details about this action. Are existing some photos of wreck and Bartels´s body??? Where is burried?

Thanks Milan

[John Beaman]

As stated, his remains were in the cockpit and confirmed by his wedding ring with his wife's name on it. The markings were not id'ed positively as only some scraps of yellow paint were present. It is assumed that it was 13+~. 13 was his favorite number and this was listed as that in the VLM record. The machine was a G-10 as built by Mtt which means it had the small wheels and wing bulges. The WNr. was 130359. He was credited with 99 Abschusse.

[kennethklee]

John's comment about the lack of preserved markings on the wreckage of Bartels' Bf 109G-10 reminded me that his fighters also carried his wife's name (Margo) over his cockpit area under the canopy.

During a Google search for more information on Bartels, I found the following Wikipedia entry:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_Bartels

I usually don't rely on Wikipedia for historical information, but this entry is interesting as it includes a photograph purported to be of Bartels' parachute on display at the Technik Museum in Berlin. I could not find another independent source for this photograph or a similar image, but the photo looked plausible enough to be of some interest.

Kenneth

Originally Posted by John Beaman

As stated, his remains were in the cockpit and confirmed by his wedding ring with his wife's name on it. The markings were not id'ed positively as only some scraps of yellow paint were present. It is assumed that it was 13+~. 13 was his favorite number and this was listed as that in the VLM record. The machine was a G-10 as built by Mtt which means it had the small wheels and wing bulges. The WNr. was 130359. He was credited with 99 Abschusse.

[RT]

60019/27-f sta,führ,-130718-Linz/Donau S Achmer 11h00

On the issue of april 1985 of the Jägerblatt, there is a long article on Bartels

Remi

[kennethklee]

Originally Posted by RT

60019/27-f sta,führ,-130718-Linz/Donau S Achmer 11h00

On the issue of april 1985 of the Jägerblatt, there is a long article on Bartels

Remi

Remi-

Any suggestions fpr a US citizen to obtain a copy of the April 1985 Jagerblatt? Are back issues or photocopies of the articles available?

Thanks,
Kenneth

[RT]

I shall send you a copy , just ask to

cdts@cdts.fr

Remi

[John Manrho]

According to VDK site Ofw. Heinrich Bartels is buried in Villip the location where he crashed on 23.12.44.

John

[Joerg Dietsche]

Ofw Bartels crashed at Schloß Gudenau near Bonn mentioned in the book "To win the Winter SKY" , Page 241, by Danny S. Parker. Bartels went foul to a P-47.

Jörg Dietsche

[Rabe Anton]

Gee whiz, folks, how quickly we forget—or is it simply that no one cares to remember? Heinz Bartels' crash site was identified and excavated in January 1968 under the research, guidance, and leadership of the late great Werner Girbig, decorated by the German government for his contributions in the recovery of missing Luftwaffe airmen. I feel that every reader of this site owes him an immeasurable debt of gratitude for his incomparable humanitarian work as well as his innovative use of documentation in accomplishing the identification of so many long-missing aircrew.

Werner Girbig was also a vivid writer, and he recounted the entire story of the discovery, identification, and recovery of Heinz Bartels in his book Vermisst (Stuttgart, Germany: Motorbuch Verlag, 1986), pp. 110-32. It is must reading for anyone interested in Bartels, aircraft recovery, and the tragic legacy of the missing from World War II.

RA